Surf Instro Review: The Breakers-Triple-Sided Single

Release Date:  July 19, 2025

Label: Independent

The Breakers Catalo

As The Breakers gear up to release another full-length recording, they decided to give us a taste of what is to come. And they are doing it with a unique concept-the Triple-Sided Single, a collection of three distinct tracks that showcase their versatility and creativity.

THE BREAKERS ARE:

Jim Abrahams - Guitar, Effects

Marc Lockett - Drums, Percussion

Jayson Slater – Bass

 

Creating music is not just a passion, but also a labor of love. All of us working stiffs must set aside time for this kind of work, so it is a process to get everything together. Just about anyone who is an independent recording artist is leading this double life. So, listeners are required to have some patience as they strive to deliver the best music possible.

 

So, if you have a craving for more killer surf instro to digest, I have just the remedy for you with these three tracks.

 

“Injection” gets your motor running right from the starting line. Fueled by a locomotive rhythm section and lead guitar that offers a mix of first wave and today’s tech to give it a clear and crisp sound. Melodicism is the word of the day here. There is some slick guitar work going on here with Abrahams doing some quick slides down the fretboard, kind of like a surfer taking a massive wave and getting in a sustained tube. (Check the track video provided)

 

“Facing The Sun” marks a shift towards more complex compositions, incorporating a touch of psych garage influence. Some cool transitions are found within this number. Then the old school sounds jump out suddenly for the ’60s organ sound (*which I suspected was a guitar), kind of like The Munsters’ intro if you can remember that or are familiar with it. This was a big step away from the previous track, reminding you of how eclectic surf rock can be if you have the talent of this remarkable trio.

*I asked Jim Abrahams, and he confirmed that the organ sound was the Eastwood Backlund Model 100 DLX Guitar through the Electro Harmonix C9 Organ Machine.

“Adios, Consciousness” takes another turn on the musical road. This track is a journey, with a mellow start, a prominent bass line, and a 60s psych vibe. Then, it surprises us with a heavier, meatier sound, complete with a sax and trumpet. The guitar, switching to tremolo mode, adds to the variety. It’s like listening to several songs all rolled into one session. No wonder they go past 3 minutes!

 

If the Triple-Sided Single is a taste of what’s to come with the whole album, I, for one, am eagerly awaiting its release. If you’re a fan of The Breakers, you won’t want to miss this!

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-Surf Music and Art Reviews Founder

August 15, 2025

Tracks:

1. Injection 02:32

2. Facing The Sun 02:50

3. Adios, Consciousness 03:26

Surf Music Review: The Deweys – Search for Surf

Release Date: July 2025

Label: Independent
Website: Bandcamp

The Mother’s Tavern in Sunset Beach, California, is a cozy little pub where thirsty bikers gather. It’s one of those quaint places where the walls are lined with mementos and scribbled banknotes. Here and there, you’ll find car parts, and even bras, hanging from the ceiling. They serve Corona and English brown ale, and local hot rod bands perform at weekends. In late July 2025, it was the Deweys who presented their album Search for Surf in this worthy setting.

The somewhat simple graphic on the record sleeve depicts the silhouette of a lifeguard cabin, a typical feature of California’s wide, sandy beaches. A “Catalina” maritime patrol aircraft circles in the sky above. We read the label “sixteen surf instrumentals” as well as the promising listener note “recorded in full dimensional deweyphonic sound”.

The Deweys are Armin (guitar), Jeff (guitar), Dave (bass), and Johnny (drums), who all call themselves “Dewey” by their last name. A band is like a family. Their mutual passion for surf music bonded them together, and we can smell the beach with every beat. They look neat on stage in their Henley shirts, like the ones Californian surfers wore in the early 1960s. Might they be setting a fashion trend?

Straightforward, no-frills surf music is what we hear, and it immediately captivates us. “AMX”, the album’s opening song, has us cruising the boulevards in a sporty coupé. The sound is homogeneous throughout; unpretentious yet sparkling.

Track 2, “Surfa Nova”. We check in at the Hotel California and meet Martin Cilia in the lobby. He has just arrived on the “Flight of the Surf Guitar”. This isn’t unpleasant at all.

“Victory at Mr. C’s” recounts a fortunate purchase at Mr. C’s Records, a renowned record store in Orange, California — the band’s hometown. A lucky fellow acquired an original Dick Dale record there.

Well waxed we continue on to “C.C. Slider”. “Slider” is surfing slang for a dude who rides a longboard. Honor to whom honor is due. There are handclaps for Curt Culver (C.C.), the band’s best surfing buddy.

The band is very compact yet still has a youthful vibe, reminiscent of a school band from the economic miracle era. The dynamic is thoroughly massaged and deeply relaxed. There’s no bandmate hopping around on stage thinking he’s in a heavy metal band.

Bob, an enthusiastic attendee of the release party, describes the foursome’s delicate Showmaster roaring in detail: 

“With Armin on his clean Jaguar and Jeff on his lush and drippy Jazzmaster, they form the perfect two-guitar surf attack.” 

Fullerton, where these electric instruments were manufactured initially, is nearby. 

“All the guitars and amplifiers are by Fender — just how God intended it”, Bob raves, deciding that very evening to start his own surf band and learn the guitar.

In addition to the aforementioned division of tasks, it is the sequences featuring dual lead guitar that particularly delight. However, the most beautiful thing is when Armin and Jeff’s guitars flow together like ocean waves. This is where the band’s most significant potential lies. (Keith and Ron from the Stones would call this “guitar weaving.)

With every note, you can hear that the band members live by the Pacific Ocean. With their streamlined signature sound, the band has created a repertoire that listeners can enjoy all the way through for hours. (The band performs the entire album live in one set.) However, certain elements provide variety:

They strike some off-key notes in “Woe to Woe Fat” and “Off the Rails”, while “War Path” is based on an ancient Amerindian rhythm. The Tex-Mex interlude “Uncle Stanley” is a memorial to a colorful family member, who enjoyed drinking and dancing in a local country music bar.

In “Oasis”, the Deweys relish oriental scales in a sashay step change. “Talkin’ Tiki” is a gentle hammock song with a rimshot beat and a plenty of exotica flair. The moody “The Hidden Beyond” leaves us feeling deeply satisfied at sunset after a fulfilling day at the beach.

The catchiest song is perhaps “The Last”, which certainly would have deserved a more auspicious title. The album’s track listing could also have been arranged better. Two interesting cover versions round off the album: 

One is by Neil Diamond — not the resounding stadium anthem, but “Solitary Man”, one of the singer’s earlier works. The choice of this song as a cover once again highlights the band’s elegance.

“Major Tom (Coming Home)” is likely to surprise German-speaking listeners in particular. Peter Schilling topped the German charts in 1983 with this robotic Neue Deutsche Welle pop song, which reached number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts the following year.

Although Search for Surf is their debut album, the band has a long history. The Deweys more or less emerged from the Torquays, a band formed in 1964. Armin Dewey took over on guitar in their later phase. He’s the surfer in the band and writes the songs, which let us smell the beach air with every beat. 

This is how the Deweys emerge from the transfiguration of surf music history as if nothing had happened in between. Undoubtedly, this is not a mimicry of the first wave — this IS the first wave! It’s bands like the Deweys who make traditional surf music the lively folklore of California in the here and now.

Jimmy Dee, Staff Writer at Surf Music and Art

August 14, 2025

Tracklist:

01. AMX
02. Surfa Nova
03. Victory at Mr. C’s
04. The Hidden Beyond
05. C.C. Slider
06. Oasis
07. Overhead
08. Talkin’ Tiki
09. War Path
10. Solitary Man
11. Woe to Woe Fat
12. Uncle Stanley
13. Major Tom (Coming Home)
14. Off the Rails
15. The Last
16. Deweys Theme

Surf-Garage Rock Vinyl Review: The Knights-I Don't Need You

Visit Artist Website

I Don’t Need You is the kind of music that reaches way back to another time, another world. Before the 60s became tumultuous, there were surf instrumental bands like The Ventures with a worldwide fan base. Then the mop tops in 1964 ruined all their fun.

Some bands emulated those wonderful Ventures like The Knights, led by guitarist Dick Stewart (AKA King Richard). Dick, who will be turning 80 this July, is more than just a musician to me. I met him when he was around 60, and our friendship has spanned decades. He was one of the key individuals that I met while developing as a writer and my “MuzikMan” persona. I just needed to say that because he became a friend, and I was a regular contributor with my Pick of The Month to his fanzine The Lance Monthly.

As time passes, people move on and get involved in other projects, as we both did. One day, I got a box in the mail from Dick with his most recent literary excursion and the LP by the Knights titled I Don’t Need You. I hadn’t heard this music in years, so I gave it a spin. The familiar tunes brought back a flood of memories and reignited my original love for the genre. This is how I ended up meeting Dick and folks like Merrell Fankhauser and a host of other similar artists. Many fond memories came flooding back with this great music!

Side one kicks off with some beautifully perfected surf instrumentals like “Precision,” “Cut-Out,” and “Moonbeam.” I had forgotten how good this music was, and it reignited my original love for the genre. This is how I ended up meeting Dick and folks like Merrell Fankhauser and a host of other similar artists. Many fond memories came flooding back with this great music!

Side two offers up some garage and frat rock, a term used to describe the rock music popular in fraternity houses, as they called it back in the day. The vocal tunes are a step away from the surf instrumentals, but just as significant historically for their legacy, and quite enjoyable. It is everything a compilation should be as far as I am concerned.

I am deeply grateful for the relationships I have formed in the music industry, and Dick Stewart is one of the special people that I will never forget. His music will live on long after we are both gone from this planet. That is the beauty of music that made a difference and still does.

I Don’t Need You is a trip back in time when things were so much simpler with no internet, cell phones, social media, and everyone wasn’t worried about “offending” someone regardless of what they said. 

I sometimes wish I could go back to that time when I was a little boy, when all this music was so popular, but then again, I wouldn’t be who I am today, with an ear to the sounds of yesteryear and getting the word out to people who need to hear it!

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

February 16, 2020